When people think of Hawaii, they tend to conjure Kauai’s jungles or Maui’s white sand beaches. But it’s Honolulu on the island of Oahu where most locals live and work, yielding a dynamic and complicated scene where Indigenous culture converges with Asian influences and midcentury Americana, and energetic food and arts scenes unfold against a backdrop of warm beaches and lush forests.

New reservation systems to hike Diamond Head State Monument and snorkel Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve have helped lessen crowds and restore some of the flora and fauna, while new boutique hotels in Waikiki reclaim overlooked architectural gems.

Advance planners should look for the Hawaii Triennial (Feb. 15 to May 4), spread across landmark sites including the 135-year-old Bishop Museum, dedicated to Hawaiian culture, as well as Le’ahi, or Diamond Head, a volcanic tuff cone.

ITINERARY

FRIDAY

4:30 p.m. | See a volcanic crater

Start your weekend by heading toward Diamond Head, the Oahu landmark that was formed by a volcanic eruption some 300,000 years ago on the eastern edge of Waikiki. On the way, stop by Fort Ruger Market. Previously a general store serving the neighborhood since 1937, it now turns out Filipino and Hawaiian food classics. Pick up lechon (crispy-skinned roast pork, $19.95 a pound) and poke (seasoned raw cubed fish, $29.95 a pound), and take your snacks to one of the lookouts on the crater’s southern flank. During the winter months, you might glimpse migrating humpback whales. Closer below, you’ll see surfers catching their last waves of the day, and sometimes, during Friday night sailing races, sailboats rounding the Diamond Head buoy as the golden hour descends.

6 p.m. | Explore art after dark

Every Friday, the Honolulu Museum of Art keeps its doors open until 9 p.m., and its courtyard cafe is a lovely spot to grab a glass of wine and listen to live music in between gallery-hopping. New exhibitions include a retrospective of Satoru Abe (through July 20), arguably Hawaii’s most influential artist and still creating at age 98. His work spans seven decades of works, from sculptures to recent abstract multidirectional paintings (adults $25).

8 p.m. | Dine in a car dealership

An easy walk from the museum, but difficult to find, MW Restaurant is tucked into the second floor of a luxury car showroom. Out of sight of the Maseratis and Bentleys, MW’s dining room offers more subtle luxuries in the form of pork hash dumplings bathed in truffle-bacon broth ($18), Kona kampachi (amberjack) coated in dried mochi shavings and pan-fried until crisp ($48), and a recent special of a lobster lasagne ($65). Don’t skip dessert, in particular the shave ice ($16), a granita of seasonal and local fruit — which has recently included mango and persimmon — over panna cotta and coconut tapioca ($16). Regulars are known to pull up to the bar just for this upscale take on a local favorite.

SATURDAY

8 a.m. | Taste tropical flavors

Spread over two parking lots, the Kaka’ako farmers market by Kewalo Basin Harbor, toward the western end of town, is big enough that you need a strategy. Start at Wallflour Bake Shop before it sells out of its pastries. You might find a liliko’i (passion fruit) sticky bun ($6.50) or an Okinawan brown-sugar, twice-baked croissant stuffed with kinako (roasted soybean flour) paste ($6.50). Then beeline to MA’O Organic Farms and Kahumana, two social enterprise farms supporting communities on the west side of Oahu, for local produce like tart-sweet apple bananas and longan. Marvel at Sugah Papi’s Farms’ quick knife skills as you dig into a rainbow fruit bowl ($17) that might include dragon fruit, liliko’i and star fruit.

10 a.m. | Pick up comfort food

Save room in your stomach and drive about 10 minutes west to Ethel’s Grill, open since 1979, and a mainstay for its local Japanese and Okinawan classics. It’s run by the husband-and-wife team Robert and Minaka Urquidi, who took it over from her parents in recent years. They’ve kept most recipes largely the same, including hamburger steak topped with grated daikon and ponzu sauce ($14.95); goya champuru, an Okinawan stir fry of bitter melon and pork ($14.95); and taco rice ($16.95), a mashup born of Japanese and American military influences in Okinawa (parallels abound between Hawaii and Okinawa). During the pandemic, the tiny spot permanently transitioned to takeout only, so take your haul to the next stop.

11 a.m. | Picnic among old trees

Foster Botanical Garden ($5 admission), an oasis wedged between the freeway and Chinatown, is home to an orchid conservatory and some of Oahu’s oldest trees, including a bodhi tree and endemic loulu palm. Watch out for falling cannonballs, the woody, heavy fruit of the cannonball tree. The grounds once belonged to Mary Mikahala Elizabeth Robinson Foster, known as the first Native Hawaiian Buddhist (the bodhi tree given to her is said to be a descendant of the one under which the Buddha attained enlightenment). She was one of only two people allowed to visit Queen Lili’uokalani, Hawaii’s last monarch, in her imprisonment during the U.S. military-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. They shared a love of plants, so it’s fitting that the Lili’uokalani Botanical Garden lies just across the freeway.

Noon | Browse Chinatown

As you leave the garden, admire the adjacent Kuan Yin Temple, a Chinese Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva of compassion, and peer into the 1922 Shinto shrine Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii, across the street. Both are active places of worship, so approach with respect. From there, cross into Chinatown, which, perhaps more than any other Honolulu neighborhood, has faced cycles of prosperity and poverty. It is one of the largest intact historical districts, where newer boutiques and artists collectives coexist with longtime businesses. Buy a fragrant tuberose or white ginger flower lei (starting at about $15) at Cindy’s Lei Shoppe and try on modern aloha shirts and dresses at the Roberta Oaks store. Peruse Native Books at Arts & Letters Nu’uanu, which carries an extensive selection of Hawaiian and Pacific Island books within an art gallery and community space.

2 p.m. | Drive into the jungle

Ascend winding Tantalus Drive, through a canopy of trees dripping with vines, to reach the Liljestrand House, built by architect Vladimir Ossipoff in 1952. Only accessible by reservation, guided tours ($50) lead you through one of his finest residential works, designed with California redwood, Yokohama sandstone from west Oahu and polished concrete for seamless transitions between indoors and outdoors. Or if you prefer a full jungle immersion, the Tantalus region is a launching point for a network of hiking trails. Head to Pu’u ‘Ualaka’a State Wayside for panoramic views of the entire southern coastline, and for the beginning of the ‘Ualaka’a Trail, a 1-mile loop through banyans and pine trees. Beware, the path can get muddy and buggy after rains.

5 p.m. | Swim at sunset

Head to Kaimana Beach, a small stretch near the base of Diamond Head. Don snorkel goggles and you may spot turtles and fish while dodging outrigger canoe paddlers returning to shore and swimmers making their laps to the windsock, the Dr. Seussian flag hanging on a pole about 800 feet from the beach. Enjoy the sunset on the sand or from the bar at Hau Tree, the open-air restaurant at Kaimana Beach Hotel, recently renovated for a boho beach vibe. The restaurant is named for the more than 100-year-old hau trees that provide the dining room’s canopy, and it’s said that Robert Louis Stevenson penned poems under its branches.

7 p.m. | Mix and match for dinner

By the commercial fishing harbor, Nami Kaze opened a few years ago and has already become a local, multigenerational favorite. The chef and owner, Jason Peel, focuses on vegetable and seafood small plates. The entire first page of the menu is devoted to Hawaii’s produce, in the form of ‘ulu tots (fluffy, fried breadfruit bites) in barbecue sauce ($12) and corn beignets ($10) that are more like puffs of air dusted with Japanese curry powder. Slippery sensations abound in the raw tuna with natto (fermented soybeans) and okra ($24); if you prefer your seafood cooked, there’s pan-fried kampachi with ponzu butter ($34). (It’s also worth coming for brunch for creations like honey-walnut shrimp waffles.)

SUNDAY

9 a.m. | Do an architecture walk

Many guides urge you to get out of touristy Waikiki, but it is full of gems if you know where to look. Start with a Japanese breakfast at the traditional Yoshitsune, cloistered in the Park Shore Waikiki hotel. The spread of broiled fish, pickles, housemade tofu and miso soup (from $35) will fuel your jaunt through Waikiki’s backstreets. Follow the self-guided tour by the Surfjack Hotel and Docomomo, a nonprofit that preserves modern architecture and design. See the apartment building Waikiki Skyliner’s two patterns of breeze blocks, anchored by a black Puna lava rock wall; a three-story walk-up’s railing depicting breadfruit leaves and fruit; and White Sands Hotel, built around a courtyard pool and waterfall-fringed koi ponds.

Noon | Shop and eat in Kaimuki

Explore the eclectic shops of Kaimuki, a neighborhood east of Waikiki. Seek out Pitacus Chop Art on the second floor of a turquoise building, where designer Lisa Weimken reworks vintage Japanese fabrics into one-of-a-kind dresses and unisex separates. Pop into Island-Boy shop, where whimsy and minimalism share space on the shelves stocked with shaka-shaped bottle openers and Lindquist’s handmade leather bags. At the 70-year-old Crack Seed Store, glass apothecary jars display a variety of crack seed (sour-salty-sweet preserved fruit snacks). For something more substantial, grab a slice of quiche or a sandwich at the Local General Store, a bakery and butcher counter. Stick around long enough and you can catch the Curb, a cafe and wine bar, as it transitions from pouring coffee to natural wine at 2 p.m.